Product management in marketing refers to the functions of product strategy, marketing tactics, field marketing and technical management. Small companies may rely on a few marketing professionals to handle these tasks, but large corporations may use four separate, but interrelated departments, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Product Management Aspects
Product management in marketing involves marketing professionals who identify and prioritize product visions. Marketing product managers serve as the hub for each product line’s vision and direction. They strive to maximize business value by being the customer’s voice and viewpoint. Product management runs on professionals maintaining trusted relationships with clients to better understand needs and concerns. Product management drives decisions related to market forces, business models, market opportunities and research and development.
They must carefully balance customer needs without placing undue strain on budget, staffing and resource limitations. Product management requires marketing professionals to identify metrics and success criteria to be tracked. These things will ensure communication transparency, program improvements and peer collaboration. New product lines will require sales, marketing, advertising and customer service leaders to determine the best ways to communicate with customers.
Roadmap Creation and Collaboration
Product management in marketing will require insights and feedback from clients and partners in order to streamline input gathering, processing and sharing frameworks. Marketing professionals must elicit expectations of multiple stakeholders to improve product portfolios. They will then create and drive product roadmaps that are aligned with broader business objectives. This process requires staff to thoroughly understand the end-to-end customer journey with major milestones and touchpoints.
Marketing professionals may contribute to the development of management teams by lending their knowledge and experience. They may seek opportunities for learning about market trends, competitor business intelligence and best management practices. They may assist operations, manufacturing and production management leaders with launch decisions. They use product roadmaps to establish accountability for short- and long-term goals. Roadmap creation may require them to clarify backlog requirements with key internal and external stakeholders.
Marketing Careers in Product Management
Most of these marketing professionals will have a bachelor’s degree related to business, operations or management. Job candidates will need to have a few years of experience with release coordination, product design, supply chain management and complex back-end platforms. They must be comfortable working with cross-functional groups and diverse stakeholders in hectic business environments. Those who deal with IT and software must have a strong understanding of technical feasibility, timelines and development barriers.
Product management leaders will have empathy for end users and a passion for improving products and services. They will be experienced and confident presenters who can handle all types of audiences and clients. Their strong negotiation and problem solving skills will help them solve issues and face unknowns. Analytic and quantitative capabilities empower them to use data to drive product decisions. Their appreciation for the product development process should be balanced by their ability to anticipate potential impacts.
Related Resource: What Product Management Jobs are in Marketing?
Readers should note that product marketing leaders are responsible for product growth, positioning and communication. They establish product value, come up with new advertising ways and engage target audiences. Product managers are responsible for supervising the teams that build products. They actively source feedback from customers and translate this information into engineer-friendly ideas.
